1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and particularly to an image recording apparatus, which records a plurality of images on an elongated recording material by adhering thereto ink droplets for recording ejected from ejection orifices of a recording head, and cuts the recording material into units of recorded areas corresponding to the respective images.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most common method for recording a color image of a photographed object on a recording material, such as recording paper, uses a silver halide color photosensitive material. While this method has an advantage in that a large amount of images can be recorded at high speed, the method also has a drawback in that an apparatus is large and has a complicated structure, resulting in complex maintenance. Although various improvements have been devised to obtain an apparatus which is small and needs little maintenance, further improvements on the apparatus are demanded.
An ink jet recording method, in which an image is recorded on a recording material by ejecting ink droplets from ejection orifices of a recording head and adhering them onto the recording material, is known as another image recording method. The ink jet recording method is widely used in applications such as recording data, which has been outputted from a computer, on a recording material as an image. Since an image is recorded by directly adhering a pigment solution (i.e., ink) to the recording material, the ink jet recording method has an advantage in that variations in the density of an image due to changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature, are small. Further, the ink jet recording method is basically advantageous in maintenance in comparison to the image recording method using the silver halide color photosensitive material.
An example of an apparatus for recording an image at high speed in accordance with the ink jet recording method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-127550. An end of a roll of wide recording material is pulled out and conveyed in a first direction which is parallel to a direction in which the recording material is pulled out. Images are recorded in parallel with each other on the recording material along a transverse direction thereof. Thereafter, a portion of the recording material on which the images have been recorded is separated (cut) from a portion of the recording material on which no images are recorded, conveyed in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction (i.e., a direction parallel to the direction in which the images are arranged), and cut into the respective images.
However, in the above-described image recording apparatus, after the portion of the recording material, on which the images have been recorded in parallel with each other in the transverse direction, is separated, the separated portion is sequentially cut into the respective images while being conveyed frame by frame. Therefore, the apparatus has a drawback in that a processing time required for each image (i.e., a time required to record images onto the recording material, cut the recording material into the respective images, and output the cut recording materials) is long.
Further, the ink jet recording method may have malfunctions, such as improper ejection of ink droplets resulting from blockage of the ejection orifices of the recording head. When malfunctions occur, fatal flaws, which are easily observable, such as white streaks in an image, are formed. This drawback becomes particularly problematic when a large number of images are sequentially recorded on the recording material. When the above-mentioned defect is observed after sequential recording of a large number of images is completed, all the images need to be re-recorded, which leads to a substantial decrease in processing capacity (i.e., the number of images recorded per unit time) and the yield of output images having appropriate image quality. However, the above disclosure does not mention this drawback.
In view of the aforementioned facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain an image recording apparatus which can shorten a processing time required for each image.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording images represented by image data on an elongated recording material using ink, the image recording apparatus comprising: recording means which includes a recording head, that has at least one ejection orifice and ejects ink droplets for recording from the ejection orifice so that the ink droplets adhere to the recording material, the recording means being able to record a plurality of images in parallel with each other along a transverse direction of the recording material; first cutting means which cuts the recording material, after images have been recorded thereon, into pieces along boundaries of the recorded images, the boundaries extending in the transverse direction of the recording material; conveyance means for conveying the pieces of the recording material, which pieces have been cut by the first cutting means, in a direction substantially orthogonal to a direction in which the pieces have been cut by the first cutting means; second cutting means for cutting the pieces of the recording material, which pieces have been conveyed by the conveyance means, along boundaries of the recorded images, the boundaries extending in the direction in which the pieces are conveyed; and control means for controlling the second cutting means so that the second cutting means cuts the pieces, each having a plurality of images recorded thereon, along the boundaries of the respective recorded images, the boundaries extending in the direction in which the pieces are conveyed.
The recording means can record images in parallel with each other along the transverse direction of the recording material by adhering ink droplets, which have been ejected from the ejection orifice of the recording head, to the elongated recording material. The recording means may record the images with a fixed size in a fixed recording format (i.e., a format in which the images are recorded in the transverse direction of the recording material), or in a recording format corresponding to the size of the images to be recorded, which format is selected from multiple recording formats which have been prepared to record images of multiple sizes. The multiple recording formats may include a recording format, in which a single image is recorded along the transverse direction of the recording material.
As a scanning method (image recording method) which is carried out by the recording head, one of the following methods may be used: a method in which an image is recorded on the recording material by moving the recording head in two directions intersecting each other while the recording material is conveyed in a fixed direction; and a method in which, while the recording material is conveyed in a fixed direction, an image is recorded on the recording material with a recording head that has a large number of ejection orifices successively arranged from one end of the recording material to the other, in a direction intersecting the direction in which the recording material is conveyed.
The recording material, on which images have been recorded by the recording means, is cut into pieces along boundaries of the recorded images, which boundaries extend in the transverse direction of the recording material. The pieces of the recording material are conveyed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the pieces are cut by the first cutting means. As described above, by cutting the recording material into pieces with the first cutting means, the conveyance means can convey the pieces of the recording material, which have been cut by the first cutting means, downstream from a position at which the recording material is cut by the first cutting means, at high speed without being affected by the speed at which images are recorded by the recording means.
The second cutting means is disposed in the image recording apparatus and can cut, along the direction in which the pieces are conveyed (hereinafter, referred to as simply a conveyance direction), the pieces of the recording material, which are conveyed by the conveyance means. The control means controls the second cutting means such that the second cutting means cuts, from among the pieces of the recording material conveyed by the conveyance means, the piece of the recording material that has a plurality of the images recorded thereon, along boundaries of the respective recorded images, which boundaries extend in the conveyance direction. The second cutting means cuts the pieces along the conveyance direction. Therefore, when the plurality of the images is recorded along the transverse direction of the recording material, the recording material does not need to be intermittently conveyed, and can be cut for each image while being conveyed. According to the aspect of the present invention, the processing time for a single image can be reduced.
The image recording apparatus of the present invention may record images of a fixed size in a fixed recording format. However, when images can be recorded in multiple recording formats having different boundaries for the respective images, which boundaries extend in the conveyance direction, it is preferable that the second cutting means includes a cutter, which is disposed at each position that corresponds to one of the boundaries of the recorded images in the multiple recording formats and can select whether or not to cut the pieces of the recording material and that the control means determines the recording format for each of the pieces and select whether or not the recording material is to be cut by the respective cutters of the second cutting means.
Since one of the cutters is disposed at each position corresponding to the boundaries for each of the recorded images in the multiple recording formats, it is not necessary to perform a process which is complicated and requires high accuracy, such as moving the cutters to the positions corresponding to the boundaries for each of the recorded images, in accordance with the recording format for each of the pieces. Therefore, the apparatus can have a simple structure even if it can record images in the multiple recording formats.
A cutter having a disc-shaped member rotatably supported by a shaft, and a blade formed on the periphery of the member can be used. The cutter can be formed so as to be movable between a first position, at which the blade is pressed against the recording material and rotated along with the conveyance of the recording material, and a second position, at which the blade is spaced from the recording material. In this case, when the cutter is at the first position, by the cutter being rotated along with the conveyance of the recording material, the recording material is cut along the conveyance direction. When the cutter is at the second position, cutting of the recording material is stopped.
Accordingly, whether or not the recording material is to be cut by the respective cutters of the second cutting means can be selected by positioning each of the cutters at the first or second position. Therefore, the structure of the apparatus can further be simplified even if it can record images in the multiple recording formats.
When images can be recorded in both a first recording format for recording a plurality of images along the transverse direction of the recording material and a second recording format for recording a single image along the transverse direction of the recording material, the present invention may comprise a first conveyance path, at which the second cutting means is disposed, and a second conveyance path, at which no second cutting means is disposed, to convey the pieces of the recording material. In this case, the control means can control the conveyance paths such that the piece of the recording material having the plurality of images recorded thereon is conveyed along the first conveyance path, and the piece of the recording material having the single image recorded thereon is conveyed along the second conveyance path.
By the pieces of the recording material, each of which has images recorded thereon in accordance with the second recording format, being conveyed along the second conveyance path, the recording format for the pieces of the recording material to be conveyed along the first conveyance path becomes fixed when only a single recording format is used as the first recording format. Further, the cutting position for the pieces of the recording material does not need to be changed in accordance with the recording format.
The image recording apparatus of the present invention may further include accumulating means for sorting and accumulating the recording material, which has been cut for each of the recorded images, based on each case (e.g., based on the recording material whose images recorded thereon correspond to original images recorded on the same recording material such as a photographic film, or based on the recording material whose images recorded thereon correspond to a single order). With this accumulating means, an operator does not need to sort or accumulate, for each photographic film or each order, the recording material that has been cut for each of the images recorded thereon. Therefore, work of the operator can be reduced.
Further, the image recording apparatus of the present invention may include means for forming a transparent film on the image recording surface of the recording material, on which surface an image has been recorded by the recording means. As a result, water resistance and weather resistance of the image which has been recorded on the recording material can be improved.
There are several methods for forming a transparent film. For example, a transparent film can be formed by attaching a transparent polymer film to the image recording surface. The transparent film can be formed stably and relatively inexpensively by using this method.
If a solvent, which is included in ink droplets adhering to the recording material, remains in the recording material during formation of a transparent film on the image recording surface of the recording material, the solvent is trapped in the transparent film and may deteriorate the image quality of recorded images. Therefore, the image recording apparatus of the present invention preferably includes heating means, which applies heat to the recording material on which images have been recorded, thereby removing the solvent included in the ink droplets adhering to the recording material. Thus, the solvent included in the ink droplets adhered to the recording material can be removed in a short time, and this deterioration of the image quality of the recording material can be prevented.
Removal of the solvent by the heating means, and formation of the transparent film by the film forming means are preferably carried out after the recording means has recorded the image on the recording material and before the first cutting means cuts the recording material.
Further, the image recording apparatus of the present invention includes supply means for supplying the recording material. The recording material may be shaped into a roll, and the recording means may record images onto the recording material which has been pulled out and conveyed to a recording position. In this way, handling characteristics of the recording material during loading thereof in the image recording apparatus is improved, as compared with a case in which the recording material is cut into pieces of predetermined sizes in advance.
The image recording apparatus of the present invention may further include monitoring means for monitoring whether an event, which interferes with image recording carried out by the recording means, has occurred during image recording, and processing means which, when the monitoring means determines that the event has occurred, carries out a processing for removing the event or the defect caused by the event.
Examples of the event that interferes with image recording include malfunction of the recording means (specifically, blockage in an ejection orifice of the recording head, a decrease in the amount of ink ejected from the recording head, or other events), and a decrease in the capacity of storage means, which stores information on images. Further, the image recording apparatus may include acquiring means for acquiring information on an original image to be recorded on the recording material, and image processing means, which carries out image processing with respect to the information on the original image acquired by the acquiring means, to thereby generate information representing an image to be recorded on the recording material, and outputs the generated information to the recording means. Examples of the event that interfere with image recording in the image recording apparatus that includes the acquiring means and the image processing means, include malfunction of the acquiring means, acquirement of defective information on the original image by the acquiring means, and inappropriate image processing carried out by the image processing means.
Even when the above-described events occur while the recording means successively records a plurality of images on the recording material, the events are detected by the monitoring means, and defects in image recording or the events themselves which cause the defects are eliminated. Therefore, recording a large number of inappropriate images after occurrence of the events, or image recording being stopped for a long time due to the events can be prevented. Further, the processing capacity of the image recording apparatus of the present invention and the yield of appropriate images can be increased.